The Force of a Cloud Car
by TDWidow
Summary: After Luke Skywalker is mysteriously transported to a strange planet called Earth, he finds that he can no longer feel the Force. He must then seek aid from the only Force users he can find...the Care Bears? COMPLETE
1. Two Tales

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~AUTHOR'S NOTE~ I don't know where I _ever_ got the idea to mix these two worlds, but the result has been…interesting. This story takes place after _Return of the Jedi_ and after Dark Heart's defeat in _Care Bears 2_. _Care Bears 2_ is the only Care Bears movie I've seen, so all historical plot references are to that and all genders of the Bears or Cousins are based on that too.

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~DISCLAIMER~ I don't own _anyone_ in this story. All of the Star Wars characters are owned by George Lucas and the Care Bears are owned by whoever made that movie. Or maybe "Those Characters from Cleveland"…I don't know. But it's not me, whoever it is.

When two tales come together, who knows what will befall our heroes?

~~~~~

Luke Skywalker was a farmboy thrust into an intergalactic war. He was unknowingly the son of Darth Vader, an evil man-turned-machine bent of destroying the Jedi order – his own former order. Both Luke and Vader possessed a talent for feeling the Force – mystical energy used for good by the Jedi and for evil by Sith lords like Vader.

With the help of his friends Han Solo and the wookiee Chewbacca and teachers Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi and Yoda, Luke slowly unearthed of his family past and learned to harness his control over the Force. It took Luke long to come to terms with Vader being his father, who Luke thought to be dead. But Luke also discovered his lost twin sister: Leia, adopted Princess of the destroyed planet Alderaan. Leia also possessed the family's strong connection to the Force. Her resolve for avenging her lost planet, her bond with her brother Luke, and her love for Han Solo developed into a unique form of strength in Leia that carried her through the galactic Civil War.

Anakin Skywalker saved the life of Luke as he renounced his alter ego Darth Vader and turned on his evil master, Emperor Palpatine, thus also sacrificing his own life. Order and peace were restored to the galaxy with the Emperor and Vader's death.

~~~~~

True Heart Bear and Noble Heart Horse raised the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins to protect Earth and its inhabitants from cruelty and carelessness. The two originally settled their family in the Kingdom of Caring and there they received mystical symbols on their stomachs, which enabled them to project their positive energy and feelings.

An evil force known only as Dark Heart was close to discovering True Heart and Noble Heart's sanctuary for the baby Care Bears and Cousins. To keep the cubs safe, True Heart moved the Care Bear cubs to another land of clouds called Care-a-Lot. Likewise, Noble Heart moved his Care Bear Cousin cubs to a land just below Care-a-Lot: the Forest of Feelings.

The Cubs slowly grew to full-grown Bears and Cousins, learning to protect Earth and love the people. But it was three children that finally helped them to defeat Dark Heart. The children learned how to love themselves and each other from the Care Bears and Cousins and that knowledge led them to all fight Dark Heart as a team. The Care Bears and Cousins were eventually able to release Dark Heart of his evil, thus turning him into a real human boy free of corruption.

~~~~~

Earth was free of Dark Heart's evil influence and the faraway galaxy was safe and peaceful once again. But a new evil was rising that could throw each world out of whack with one glowing crystal…


	2. Of Clouds and Confusion

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~DISCLAIMER~ I still don't own any of these people and/or creatures. Too bad too…*shrugs* eh, oh well.

Wish Bear looked worriedly through the telescope to Earth again. Maintaining the telescope and watching Earth was her job, but sometimes she wished it weren't.

"Wish Bear, what's the problem?" asked Tenderheart Bear, leader of the Care Bears under True Heart Bear, as he came up to her. Playful Heart Monkey and Bright Heart Raccoon followed him.

"I don't know. I can see a man down there, but all I can tell is that he's very confused and probably very lost."

"But if he's visible through the telescope, he must need our help, right?" asked Bright Heart, who was known for being most logical of the Care Bears or Cousins.

Wish Bear nodded. "Someone should go help him."

"I'll go!" Playful Heart offered. "Wanna help, Wish Bear?"

"Sure. Bright Heart, will you watch the telescope while we're gone?" Bright Heart nodded.

Playful Heart already had a cloud car waiting. "Let's go!"

~~~~~

Playful Heart landed the cloud car in the woods by a lake. "Where do we look?"

"I don't know. Maybe this way?" Wish Bear said pointing.

"Okay." The two started off towards the woods.

"Don't move!" came a very frightened voice from behind them.

Wish Bear and Playful Heart spun around to see a man in his early 20's. He was definitely human, but with a strange alien quality, plus he was pointing an alien looking gun at them.

"Uh…d-do you have a problem? M-maybe t-talking would help…" Playful Heart tried.

"What happened to me? Where am I?" he asked, the fear gone from his voice and replaced by confusion.

"Y-you're on Earth…" Wish Bear told him, still eyeing the weapon.

"I've never heard of Earth."

"Uh…w-well, where a-are you from?"

"Well, Tatooine originally…look, what does that matter?" Anger borne from fear and confusion had seeped into his voice.

At that, Wish Bear projected all of her love and caring through the special symbol on her stomach. The kind, caring light created a bright star around his head.

His eyes grew wide as his anger melted into surprise. "How did you do that? What _are_ you?"

"I am Wish Bear."

"And I'm Playful Heart Monkey." He had lowered his weapon, making both animal beings happy.

"My name is Luke. But again, what are you?"

"It's hard to explain…it's easier just to show you! Come on!" Playful Heart jumped into the waiting cloud car. Luke eyed it warily.

"You want me to ride in…that?"

"Yes. Tenderheart can call a meeting at the Hall of Hearst, and everything will be cleared up," Wish Bear said, gesturing for Luke to get in the back seat.

Luke was skeptical, but with a muttered "May the Force be with me," got into the cloud car.

~~~~~

'What am I doing?' Luke asked himself. 'I have no idea where I am, I can't contact anyone, I am following colored talking animals in a _cloud_ car, and worse of all, I can't sense anything!' Ever since he had arrived here, he had lost all connection to the Force. It seemed to have disappeared entirely.

Except when the green one created the star around his head. It was the Force, he was sure. Not only that, it was borne of the Light Side. Whatever these creatures were, they were Force users and that was enough to get Luke to follow them.

"Hang on, we're almost there!" said the tan one with a tail.

"Uh…ok…"

They broke through the clouds – 

– into a world unlike any Luke had ever seen. And he'd been all over the galaxy. Here, everything was made of clouds and rainbows. In the distance, Luke could see a forest full of rainbows and heart shaped flowers.

The green one grabbed Luke's hand and led him into a large, red heart-shaped building. "Welcome to the Hall of Hearts."


	3. A Warm Welcome

**~AUTHOR'S NOTE~** I'm sorry it took me _so_ long to update, I've just been very busy what with the musical I just finished, school, and work. But I'm back now and this is my first story to be updated! Hope you enjoy!

I should **warn** you that this chapter contains spoilers for the end of _Return of the Jedi_, so just be warned!

**~DISCLAIMER~** Nope, still don't own anything except my stuffed Care Bears and my Star Wars action figures ;)

The Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins were already assembled when Wish Bear and Playful Heart returned. But they were all surprised when the man followed the two in. His eyes grew wide at the assembled Care Bear family.

True Heart Bear, leader and mother figure of the Care Bears, spoke. "Welcome."

"Uh…hi?" the man replied uneasily.

"Don't be worried. We are all friends here," said Noble Heart Horse. Noble Heart was the leader of the Care Bear Cousins.

"He's a little confused," explained Playful Heart. Wish Bear nodded her agreement.

"Maybe talking about it will help!" suggested Friend Bear.

"Uh…sure. I'll talk." The Care Bear family smiled as Luke said that. "My name is Luke Skywalker. I have no idea where I am, but I know that it's nowhere near where I am from. And I don't know how I got here."

"Well, we are the Care Bears," stated Tenderheart. "You are in our home: the Kingdom of Care-a-Lot."

"Care-a-Lot?"

Braveheart Lion nodded. "And we," he said, motioning to all who weren't bears, "are the Care Bear Cousins. We live in the Forest of Feelings. You can see it down in the distance."

Luke nodded. He had seen it. "But…what exactly are you?"

"We are the Care Bear Family. We are the guardians of all the kindness and caring on Earth," Tenderheart explained.

Luke was even more confused. "You aren't Jedi?"

The Care Bears and Cousins looked at each other quizzically. "Jedi? What are Jedi?" Harmony Bear asked.

"Only Jedi use the Force."

There was a confused silence. "We don't understand," Braveheart said, speaking for the whole room.

Luke sighed. 'Time to tell my life story,' he thought. "Okay, I can explain, but you'll all have to listen closely. This—my life—can get very confusing."

~~~~~

"So then, just as the Emperor had me on the verge of death, my father turned against him. Against his own master. And by saving me, he denounced the Dark Side of the Force and rejoined the Light Side. By saving my life, he was forgiven for the horrible things he had done in the past to both my sister and I as well as the rest of the galaxy," Luke finished his family's story. The creatures seemed in awe.

Most of them were of one species: bears. They looked a little like Ewoks, Luke decided.

The bear that had brought him here, Wish Bear, spoke up. "He gave up evil that easily? How?"

"He had not been completely consumed by the Dark Side."

"You mean, the evil side of that Force that you mentioned?" Share Bear asked. Luke nodded.

Bright Heart Raccoon broke into the conversation "What is the Force?" he asked.

The rest of the family turned to Luke, waiting for an answer. After all, Bright Heart didn't usually ask questions like that—he answered them. Luke just shrugged. "No one knows exactly. Ben and Yoda, my two teachers I mentioned before, described it as an energy field created by life itself. Only certain people are able to touch it, to use it."

"And you're one of them?" asked the ever inquisitive raccoon.

Luke grew troubled again. "Normally, yes. But since I arrived here, I haven't felt it. it's like it doesn't exist." His eyes grew wide. "Except once! Wish Bear, she used it!"

True Heart looked at Wish Bear, who looked just as surprised as Luke. "I didn't do anything wrong! He was upset and I just thought…" she cried.

"The light! From the symbol!" Luke continued.

"The stare! That's all I did!" Wish Bear was scared. 

"What is the stare?" Luke demanded. When he saw her face, he softened. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to scare you or be so harsh, but I have to know why I can't touch the Force or even feel its presence. I've never gone to a planet so full of life where the Force just doesn't exist!"

"The stare, or call for the Cousins, is our way of turning our love and caring into energy. By focusing the light on an enemy, eventually the kind feelings will melt away the evil within them," True Hear explained.

Luke looked thoughtful. "Have you always had this power?"

It was Noble Heart's turn to look thoughtful. "Well, the children have always had it."

"But you and True Heart have not?" Noble Heart shook his furry head and Luke continued. "When did you realize you had this ability?"

"Well, we gathered all of the other Bears and Cousins when they were cubs," True Heart explained. "The Great Wishing Star then gave us the symbols on our stomachs that you see. Only after we got them could we stare."

That was it! "But the others could always do it?" Luke asked for good measure.

"They were given their symbols when they were cubs."

Luke nodded. He needed time to think this all over.

~~~~~

R2-D2 rolled back and forth, warbling mournfully. He was guarding the place where he had seen his master disappear into thin air and was anxiously waiting (if a droid could be anxious) for help to arrive.

The whir of repulsorlifts was a welcome sound as the _Millennium Falcon_ landed outside the cave. Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa, C-3PO, and Chewbacca the Wookiee all exited the starship and started for the cave entrance. R2 rolled out to meet them, beeping loudly and pathetically.

"He says that Master Luke has disappeared," C-3PO translated.

"Whadaya mean, disappeared?" Han asked. R2 twittered again.

"He says that there is a small glowing crystal in that cave. Master Luke touched it and vanished."

"How do you know he's disappeared? You say disappeared like he's gone for good. Maybe he's somewhere else on the planet."

"He's not," Leia said quietly. Han, Chewbacca, and 3PO looked at her expectantly. Chewie growled a question.

"Yeah, how can you be so sure?" Han asked.

Leia looked at him, her eyes full of pain. "He's my twin brother, Han. If here were anywhere in our known universe, I'd know. He's not."

"You mean he's…" Han let the end of his sentence drop. R2 wailed despairingly.

Leia firmly shook her head. "No. I'd have felt it if he died. He's just…not here."


	4. Questions of a Mysterious Power

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~AUTHOR'S NOTE~ It is only due to ff.net's recent problems that I haven't updated…I'm sorry! One clarification about this chapter: the planet Wayland plays a big role in the Thrawn trilogy (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command) of the Star Wars novels (a.k.a. the Extended Universe). It is the home of several cloning cylinders and one insane Jedi named Joruus C'boath. I won't tell you any more about him, you'll just have to read the books ;) But the planet does exist in the Star Wars universe.

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~DISCLAIMER~ Love my Star Wars action figures. They're on display now! But I don't own anything besides them. No characters or anything.

Wish Bear led Luke to a small hut fashioned out of (what else?) a cloud. "You can stay here," she told him.

"Um…thank you."

The bear smiled at him and left, leaving Luke alone. He was surprised to see actual solid furniture inside the cloud structure. 'Wow,' he thought. 'I thought the Cloud City on Bespin was impressive, but this is a _true_ cloud city!'

Luke used his time alone to try to figure out what had happened to him. He remembered flying to Wayland to investigate a strange Force tremor emanating from the planet. He had followed his senses to a small cave in a mountainside. And inside the cave, he had discovered a glowing crystal.

Since he had sensed no danger from the crystal, there seemed no reason that he shouldn't touch it. Then of course, next thing he knew, he was lying on the forest floor of a strange planet and could no longer feel the Force. "Damn!" he said out loud, mad at his own stupidity. "Of course there's no reason to touch the damn crystal!"

Luke's train of thought was interrupted by a knock on his door. "Yes?"

The door opened slowly and Wish Bear looked timidly inside. "Hello," she said shyly.

"Hello. You're back!"

She entered the room and turned to face him. "Yes. I, I just came to ask you something."

Luke smiled and said, "Of course. What is your question?"

The green bear relaxed noticeably under his smile. "Well…what you said before – about me using your Force – is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

The question caught Luke off-guard. "Well…it is bad that I cannot feel the Force. But your power comes from the Light Side of the Force, and that is very, very good."

"Oh good!" Wish Bear looked relieved. She turned to leave, looking back at Luke to say, "Thank you!"

He looked after her for a moment, then back around his cloud house. 'Well,' he thought, ' better make myself at home. I may be here a while!'

~~~~~

"Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins!" Tenderheart Bear opened the second meeting of the day, this time without their mysterious human guest. "We are all confused," he continued. "But Luke seems to be no danger."

"But he's not from Earth!" Friend bear piped up. She leaned over to listen to her best friend Secret Bear's whispered comment, laughing. "Although Secret Bear points out that we aren't from Earth either!" Secret Bear nodded as Friend translated for him.

Noble Heart Horse stood up and the family quickly quieted down. Noble Heart only spoke at meetings when it was terribly important. "We must figure out how Luke came to Earth and how we can get him home. He is not part of our world."

A murmur of agreement went through the Hall of Hearts. The Bears and Cousins were not afraid of the man, but his sudden mysterious arrival was unsettling. And they could all sense his alien-like qualities that suggested he was from far, far away.

Bright Heart Raccoon stood up to be acknowledged. "Perhaps we can learn from Luke." The others looked at him, slightly confused and Bright Heart continued. "He truly believes that we use his Force. Maybe we do. Maybe he can teach us more about it."

No one spoke as everyone considered this. "But what if he's wrong?" Grumpy Bear asked. "He could just be crazy."

"We could test him," suggested Loyal Heart Dog.

"Yeah," started Playful Heart Money, "but how?"

"I know!" Cheer Bear cried after a moment. "Everyone looked to her expectantly. "You remember how we saved Christy from Darkheart? We combined our power and all cared together. Our power grows when we're all together!"

"Maybe," Noble Heart stood up again, "if we can combine our power with his, he could again use his Force."

"It's worth a try!" Brave Heart Lion shouted.

"Then it's settled," Tenderheart announced. "If Luke can touch the Force through us, then perhaps he can really teach us more about our own power."

Wish Bear remained in her seat as the other Care Bears and Cousins left. Share Bear saw her friend still in her chair and walked over to her. "Are you okay, Wish Bear?"

"I guess so."

"Are you sure? Do you wanna talk about it?"

Wish Bear looked at her friend. "Share Bear, I want to be the one to test Luke."

Share Bear was surprised, for usually Wish Bear was not as brace as to volunteer for such a test. "Why?"

"Because when I first met him…I could feel how lost he was. He's so convinced that the stare is his Force. He told me that I used it and that it was a good thing that I did. I'm curious, I guess. I want to know more about our power."

"Oh. " Share Bear had never _really_ questioned where her power came from, but Luke had raised questions in her mind as well.

"I mean," Wish Bear continued, "why did we get our symbols in the Kingdom of Caring? What would if feel like to return to the Kingdom of Caring?"

"I don't know, Wish Bear." Share Bear glanced out towards Luke's hut. "Maybe Bright Heart's right. Luke may be able to teach us after all."


	5. Worried Friends Far Away

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~AUTHOR'S NOTE~ Yes, I am back again! I'm sorry it's been awhile, I've been working mostly on my newest crossover (I know…shameless plug…I'm so sorry! It's called All Falling From the Stars Like Rain btw…) but I have returned to Care-a-Lot for Luke's sake. This chapter is short, but the next one will be longer, I promise!

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~DISCLAIMER~ Don't own anything. 'Cept the action figures, as always!

Han and Chewie lounged on the ramp of the _Millennium Falcon_. The two droids were arguing about some trivial thing and Leia was pacing back and forth in front of the cave. She was driving Han crazy.

"Look, sweetheart, come sit down!" he finally said. "Pacing won't bring Luke back!"

"Don't say that!" she screamed. "Something has to bring him back!"

"But I don't think pacing is the answer—" Han cut off his words at the sight of Leia's death glare.

Chewie growled a question to Han. 3PO looked up, being the only one besides Han to understand the Wookiee's language. "Of course we're going to do something, Chewbacca! We just don't know what yet," the droid said indignantly. The Wookiee growled something less than nice back to the droid. Han laughed while 3PO stalked off with a mechanical huff.

Leia's head suddenly snapped toward the cave. "I'll follow him!" she said with a start towards the opening.

"You'll wha…oh no you don't!" Han and Chewbacca lunged at Leia, catching her arms. "You're not going anywhere near that crystal!"

"Han, let me go!"  


"No!"

Leia realized that she couldn't fight the man and the Wookiee and stopped struggling. She looked at Han, tears glinting in her eyes. "If no one follows him, I don't think we'll ever find him."

Han turned his troubled glance on his Wookiee friend. He knew that trying to follow Luke was probably the most dangerous option, but Leia _was_ Force Sensitive and she sounded very certain.

"Look, Leia. Trying to follow Luke may be too dangerous. I promise that we'll find some other way. I promise!"

Defeated, Leia turned away from the cave. "It's driving me crazy! I've never been so isolated from him…it's like I'm half empty," she said sadly.

Hand was a little surprised at how strongly Leia felt Luke's absence. 'I guess I underestimated those two,' he thought. 'But after all, they _are_ twins…Force Sensitive twins.' So he simply put his hands on her shoulders and directed her back towards the ship. "It's getting late, sweetheart. We all need the rest."

Leia took one last look towards the cave and allowed Han to lead her into the _Falcon_ for the night.

~~~~~

"Hello Luke," Tenderheart said as Luke invited him into the hut.

"Tenderheart, right?" The brown bear nodded and Luke smiled. "What can I do for you?"

"Well…" Tenderheart, being "high-ranking" Care Bear that he was, was chosen to speak to Luke about testing the Force theory. But he didn't know quite how to bring it up.

"You can ask me whatever you want, Tenderheart. I will not be offended." Luke could not sense the Force, but that did not dull his observation skills completely.

The Care Bear was a little surprised, but Luke's comment put him to ease. "We think we may have a way to…make sure that our power and your Force are the same thing."

"Really?" Luke was excited at the idea of feeling the Force, even for a moment, again.

"Yes. Although, we are not sure that it will work."

"That's ok. At this point, I'm willing to try anything."

"Good." Tenderheart smiled. "Let's go!"

Luke looked puzzled. "Go…where?"  


"Oh!" Tenderheart laughed. "We have to go back to Earth. Wish Bear said that the test would work best of Earth…probably."

'Great…that means another ride in those cloud car things!' Being from a world that relied on technology for almost everything, the idea of riding on clouds didn't sit well with the Jedi. 'But it looks like I have no other choice.'

Clipping his lightsaber to the belt of his flightsuit, Luke turned back to the waiting bear. "Ok. I'm ready."


	6. The Test

**~AUTHOR'S NOTE~** Sorry it's taken me so long to update things. It's been hectic what with moving into my dorm and first week of classes and all. But I'm here now and actively updating ALL my stories! Enjoy!

**~DISCLAIMER~** Nope…still don't own any of these characters. But if that ever changes, I'll let you know!

Wish Bear could not calm her nerves. True, she _had_ volunteered to be the one to test Luke, but she hadn't expected it to be such an event. She was accompanied by True Heart and Noble Heart, along with Brave Heart Lion. Tenderheart was supposed to be bringing Luke with him to Earth. He was also to be Wish Bear's anchor.

"True Heart," Brave Heart said, "Do you believe this will really work?"

"I don't know." True Heart looked at Wish Bear, wondering if the younger bear believed it either. "I just don't know."

"There they are!" Noble Heart pointed at the descending cloud car.

Wish Bear's stomach knotted in fear, as she had no idea what to expect from the experiment. True Heart came up behind her. "Do not worry. The test can't hurt you." Wish Bear only nodded absently.

Tenderheart set the cloud car down and he and Luke climbed out to meet the others. Luke looked at the three Care Bears and two Care Bear Cousins. "Why are all of you here?"

"Noble Heart and I feel we should be here, as we are the founders of the Care Bear family." True Heart replied. "Brave Heart and Tenderheart are the heads of each family. And Wish Bear is the one to test you."

"Oh. Ok."

Tenderheart walked over to where Wish Bear was standing and took his place next to her. "How will we know if the test works?" he asked.

"Um," Luke did a quick search of the surroundings.  "Watch that log," he said, pointing.

"Ok." Tenderheart took Wish Bear's hand. "Just tell me when you're ready. Let me start the stare and then take hold of Wish Bear's other paw. My power will combine with hers and be transferred to you. In theory."

Luke closed his eyes for a minute, preparing himself for what might happen. "Ok," he said. "I'm ready."

Tenderheart closed his eyes and _cared_, sending a heart-shaped beam of light from the symbol on his stomach. Wish Bear took a deep breath as Luke closed his eyes and reached for her free paw.

The instant Luke touched the furry paw, he felt the world open up to him in an explosion of feelings and images. It took him a moment to find himself on this strange planet and to readjust his senses to the Force. He could sense the backwater boredom on Tatooine. He could feel another Ewok celebration on Endor. As he stretched further, he felt the presence of Han Solo, Chewbacca, and his sister Leia on Wayland, the planet he had left. Everything he was familiar with was there.

And yet, it felt very removed. Luke realized that the Force broke whatever wall separated his universe from this strange one, but that it would take a lot more to physically return. Luke pulled his senses back to his current location. His mind's eye saw the log he had designated for the test and he reached out to lift it from the forest floor. The shock that the Care Bears felt radiated from them as Luke lifted the log high into the air and gently set it down about five feet from where it originally lay.

With a regretful sigh, Luke dropped Wish Bear's paw and was once again blind as his connection to the Force was broken. When he opened his eyes again, he saw the Care Bears and Cousins staring at him in awe.

"You…you moved that log?" Wish Bear asked. Luke nodded. "But…how?"

"Through you," Luke replied. "The test was successful. You truly do use the Force."

"Wish Bear, did you feel anything?" asked True Heart.

The green bear was quiet for a moment. "I…I don't know. I guess so. I mean, I did feel _something_, but I don't know what."

"Can you describe it?" Noble Heart asked.

"Well," Wish Bear started, "I could feel the energy going through me. And when the log started floating, I could feel that too. And…" Her voice trailed off.

"And what?" Brave Heart asked.

Wish Bear glanced sidelong at Luke. "Nothing."

She couldn't tell them everything she felt. She couldn't say that she had felt everything Luke had felt. Seen everything he'd seen.

Including the worlds he was from.

True Heart and Noble Heart had deemed the test successful and were preparing to return to Care-a-Lot. Wish Bear followed quietly, waiting for her chance to talk to Luke alone.

The six passengers of the cloud cars rose through the clouds above and started towards home.


	7. A Problematic Rescue Beginning

**~AUTHOR'S NOTE~** Again, I'm so sorry that I've waited so long to update! I can't tell you how long it will be till the next chapter, but I'm trying to be semi-regular with posting! Thanks for you patience :)

**~DISCLAIMER~** I just recently acquired a stuffed Wish Bear, along with the first Care Bears movie on DVD, but other than that, I sadly own nothing :(

Leia lay in her bunk in the _Millennium Falcon_, wide-awake and staring into the darkness. After worrying herself sick by worrying about Luke, she had reluctantly fallen asleep only to be woken up again.

She sat up in the bunk and put her head in her hands desperately. She had no doubts that somehow, Luke's presence had woken her up. That meant that wherever he was, he was alive and had somehow found a way to connect to home.

'I can't stand this any longer!' she thought. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Han and Chewbacca fast asleep between her and the exit hatch. They had done that on purpose to prevent her from leaving the ship. Leia knew that the Wookiee's sensitive hearing would pick up any attempt to pass him. But she also knew that she had to rescue her brother.

She remembered the first time she and Chewbacca had rescued Luke. Han had been frozen in a carbonite block and she, Chewie, and Lando Calrissian had caught Luke as he hung from below Cloud City. Lando had pulled him in through…

"The top hatch!" Leia said aloud, then clapped a hand over her mouth. A quick glance behind told her that the man and Wookiee still slept. 'No more stupid outbursts!' she thought sternly.

She moved silently through the ship, pulling an old flight suit on over her nightclothes as she headed towards the top hatch. The hatch itself opened silently and Leia pulled herself onto the outside hull of the ship. One look over the edge, however, brought her a whole new set of problems.

"How am I _ever_ going to get down?" she asked herself aloud. The ground was easily two if not three times her height below her and the ground terrain did not promote the idea of jumping. Leia clenched her fists in anger, on the verge of tears that something so stupid was barring her from rescuing Luke.

But then she remembered that this was no ordinary starship. Han had often said that the _Millennium Falcon_ had only one flaw – its hull was too irregular to detect tracking devices. But an irregular hull meant that Leia might be able to climb down the side. A grin spread across her face as she found her first foothold and started her descent.

Han awoke to Chewbacca's low growling. "What is it, pal?" Chewie said nothing, continuing to stare at the ceiling.

There came a thud outside the ship. Han's heart grew heavy as he slowly turned his eyes toward Leia's empty bunk. "Damn!" he shouted, leaping out of bed. He didn't even bother putting anything on over his pajama pants as he tore down the exit ramp and toward the cave.

Leia knew Han was behind her. She didn't care, for she was only a few steps away from the crystal now. She head Han calling her name behind her but didn't look back. The cave was strangely lit by the bluish glow of the crystal.

It was within her reach now. Squeezing her eyes shut, Leia took a deep breath and reached for the crystal, feeling its light on her hand.

"Leia, stop!" Hand was almost to her, but too late. As the Princess's hand came in contact with the crystal, the cave exploded with light. Han threw a hand over his eyes and Chewbacca roared in agony as the light accosted his Wookiee vision.

Then all was as it was. Han blinked and glanced panicked around the cave. Leia was gone.

"NOOO!"

~~~~~

Luke walked alone through Care-a-Lot. It was night in the Cloud Kingdom and on Earth as well, but Luke was used to the long days and nights of various planets on which he had lived.

Earth reminded him of the Jungle Moon of Endor. But, then again, most everything in this strange world reminded him of somewhere he had visited.

The not-complete darkness was soothing. Care-a-Lot seemed bathed in its own soft glow. The Care Bears all slept and the Cloud Kingdom was peaceful.

Once again, Luke was left alone to contemplate his situation. The results of the test played heavily on his mind. There was no doubt whatsoever that he had touched the Force. He had felt home. Had seen his friends. But there seemed to be such a barrier that he wondered if even the Force was powerful enough to get him home.

The night sky stretched wide above the sleeping world of caring. Luke gazed at the stars, memories swirling through his mind of watching the stars from his silent homestead on Tatooine. He knew every constellation visible from his patch of desert by heart. 

And as he studied the sky above him, Luke saw none of those familiar constellations. Nor any he'd seen from any other world.

Luke knew he was very far from home.


	8. What To Do Now?

**~AUTHOR'S NOTE~** I'm back! I've had a major writer's block with this story recently, PLUS I've been working hardcore on my newest story "Red and White," my Harry Potter canon story. (That was a shameless plug by the way…) And I have no idea what "ah kee yah tah" means in English, but it's a line from _Return of the Jedi_.

**~DISCLAIMER~** Don't own _Star Wars_ or the Care Bears. Although I have a stuffed Wish Bear on my bed!

She was in a forest. It wasn't like any forest she had seen on Earth. There were others there. They didn't look like real bears, but they weren't Care Bears either.

They were celebrating around a large bonfire. A strange chant rang through the trees as they all feasted. Just as suddenly as she had found herself there, the chanting stopped and all of the creatures turned silent.

A cry rang out, "Ah kee yah tah!" They all stared and pointed at something behind her.

She turned to see the clouds of Care-a-Lot behind her, Luke wandering around. The creatures seemed upset that he was there rather than with them. She tried to go to Care-a-Lot, home, but she couldn't move, couldn't get home…

Wish Bear awoke with a start. She lay in her bed quietly. The dream hadn't really scared her, only played with her mind. She had seen the world and creatures before; they had been things Luke had seen, from his universe. Was it home? Was that what it felt like to be stuck far away from home?

There was no way she was going to sleep after the dream, so Wish Bear just lay still. Thought spun through her mind as she stayed wide-awake through the rest of the night.

~~~~~

The cave was quiet. Han sat against the cave's wall, absent-mindedly playing with the settings on his blaster. Chewbacca kept an ever-watchful eye on the _Millennium Falcon_. Even 3PO miraculously sense the somber mood and kept his mouth shut.

The incessant click of Han's blaster was grating on Chewbacca's nerves. He glared at Han, who only stared into space, still clicking that annoying switch.

The Wookiee could finally take no more. He growled the equivalent of Basic curses at his best friend. Han snapped out of whatever trance he was in and glared at Chewbacca.

"What kind of language is that?" he asked angrily.

Chewie growled a sharp retort. His reply seemed to drain Han of his anger and the man slumped back down against the wall.

"What if I've really lost her?" he eventually asked desperately.

R2-D2 chirped optimistically.

"R2 says that you've only really lost Mistress Leia if you refuse to try and find her," 3PO translated. He paused a moment, then turned back to the dome-topped droid. "R2, are you mad? Captain Solo could very well be lost himself!"

But a glance at Han told the two droids and the Wookiee that an idea was growing in the man's head. He threw himself into a standing position. Chewbacca growled a warning.

"Uh-uh pal, R2 is right. If I don't try something, she really will never come home." But Han could see how worried his friend still was and laughed. "Don't worry Chewie! I won't go anywhere _near_ that crystal until we call for backup!"

With that, Han raced off toward the _Millennium Falcon_ to send word to everyone he could think of. The droids and Chewbacca just watched him go. R2 warbled again.

"No I do not think it was a good idea R2!" 3PO answered indignantly. "You may very well get Captain Solo killed!"

The droid's response for that was a big Wookiee paw against his golden head as the giant co-pilot took off towards the starship following his friend.

~~~~~

Leia blinked her eyes a few times and tried to sit up. After adjusting to the strange faint light coming from the moon, she saw nothing but a big, open, grassy field.

"Oh no!" she groaned. "Not again!" She flopped back down and closed her eyes again. "Just please no Ewoks this time!"


	9. Help Is On the Way

**~AUTHOR'S NOTE~** I've had SUCH writer's block with this, but hopefully I'm back on track now. Iego, in case you don't recognize the name, is a planet mentioned in _Star Wars Episode One_.

**~DISCLAIMER~** Don't own Star Wars or the Care Bears…too bad…I wouldn't mind owning Luke…;)

Luke sat straight up in his cloud bed, struck by an epiphany. He jumped out of bed and pulled his flight suit on over the loose pajamas the Bears had given him.

He left his hut and suddenly realized that he had no idea where to go. He knew that he needed to find True Heart and Noble Heart – they had a stronger power. But he had no idea where to find them.

So, he entered the first hut he could find. Good Luck Bear, a green one with a shamrock symbol, woke up when Luke gently tapped him on the shoulder. "Luke?" he asked sleepily. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Luke replied. "I just need to know where to find True Heart and Noble Heart."

"Oh." Good Luck Bear sat up. "Noble Heart lives in the Forest of Feelings. But True Heart lives in the house nearest that Hall of Hearts."

"Thanks," Luke said. "Sorry to bother you!"

"No problem…" Good Luck Bear's voice trailed off as he fell back asleep.

Luke walked quietly through Care-a-Lot, looking for True Heart's home. He saw the Hall of Hearts, but there were quite a few cloud structures around it. He chose the one that looked closest to the Hall.

Luckily, he was right. "True Heart!" he called softly to the sleeping bear.

"Hmm?" she asked as she slowly woke up. "Oh! Hello Luke. Can I help you?"

"Uh, yes. I think I may know a way to contact my friends back home."

True Heart was fully awake now. "Really?"

Luke nodded, his eyes bright with excitement. "We would need all of the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins, though."

"I don't think that will be a problem."

Luke grinned. "Good. Now I have this theory…"

~~~~~

Han glowered at the holographic figure on the _Millennium Falcon_'s dashboard. "I don't care how busy you are!" he snapped.

"Han, there is no way Mon Mothma is – "

"Who cares about her?" Han was nearly yelling.

" – going to let me take half the fleet out to some backwater planet in a moment's notice!" the figure continued.

"Luke and Leia are GONE!" Han roared. "Not lost, not on some other planet. **Gone**!"

"How can you be so sure?"

"Wedge, they are Force-sensitive twins. Before Leia disappeared, she told me that Luke was gone. Are you going to argue with a Jedi?"

"Jedi-in-Training," Wedge corrected.

"Whatever! Look, just explain nicely to Mon Mothma that two of the Rebellion's greatest heroes are missing and you need to help find them."

Wedge was quiet for a minute. "They're really gone?"

"_Yes_!" Han was rapidly nearing the end of his patience.

"I'll talk to her. We're in the Iego system right now. Wayland doesn't look too far away."

"Thank you!" Han flicked off the holographic comlink and slumped down into the pilot's chair. He turned to see Chewbacca hovering around the door. With a pained expression, Han turned to face his faithful friend. "I guess now we just wait."

~~~~~

Leia awoke to the sun rising over the field. Golden grass rippled in the light breeze. She found herself lying among such grass.

Sitting up, she stretched her arms. The sun on this planet was bright and her eyes weren't used to it. The ground she had slept on was rocky and uncomfortable and her whole body hurt.

Regardless of all that, it was one of the most beautiful planets she'd ever seen.

She forced herself to stand up and just stood for a moment, marveling at the beauty around her. Slowly, she wandered around the gilded field until she reached the edge of a forest. Tears pooled in her eyes as she gazed at the dark green trees against blue sky. 

It reminded her of home. It all reminded her of home. Memories of her idyllic childhood on Alderaan flooded over her and she sank down against the comforting trunk of a tree. Everything from the singing birds to the lazy white clouds dotting the sky looked like Alderaan. It was wonderful and heartbreaking at the same time.

Luke had taught her a meditation technique to enhance memories. It would be wonderful to relive her life on Alderaan…

"Luke!" She abandoned her nostalgia as she remembered the reason she'd ended up there. She had to find Luke. Closing her eyes, she tried to concentrate on locating her brother. "Luke…?" she whispered.

But there was no answer. There wasn't even a question. When she closed her eyes, there was nothing – a dark, black void. No life, no energy, **nothing**. Suddenly Leia felt very alone.

The Force was gone.

~~~~~

Luke's idea seemed plausible. He had been up half the night explaining it to True Heart, but she had a lot to think over.

Luke had come not only to explain the idea, but also to ask her permission. What he was asking was dangerous. True Heart wasn't sure that the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins could handle it.

Noble Heart would need to be consulted. As head of the Care Bear Cousin family, his opinion was necessary. It was not only her Care Bears who would be put in danger, after all.

Sadly, True Heart looked out of her window across the Cloudland toward Earth. Worry played on her mind – worry for her precious children. What would Earth do without them?


	10. Here We Go

**DISCLAIMER** Don't own _Star Wars_ or _Care Bears_…have you guys been reading any of the disclaimers I've written??

Han was awash with relief when the _Falcon_'s sensor beeped. The screen showed several small ships entering Wayland's atmosphere. Wedge and the fleet had arrived.

Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2 joined the man as he watched several X-Wings descend through the clouds. Wedge Antilles, Captain of the fleet, climbed out of his fighter and walked over to greet Han.

"That was fast," Han remarked.

"You were right," Wedge replied with a grim smile. "When she heard Luke and Leia had disappeared, Mon Mothma was slightly concerned."

"Glad to hear it," Han said wryly. He surveyed the pilots who had assembled behind their captain. "You guys have any brilliant ideas?"

"Well," Wedge began. "From what you told me, that crystal seems to be the key. Touching it obviously triggers some kind of portal or space rip."

Chewie growled. Han nodded. "Right pal. That makes sense 'cause Leia said Luke wasn't anywhere in the Universe. If he was, she would have felt him."

"Hmm." Wedge looked worried. "Maybe we should take the crystal to be studied?"

"Uh-uh." Han looked at Wedge. "Anything that touches the crystal gets sucked into Never Neverland, remember?"

Wedge grimaced and nodded. He looked out of ideas. The pilots all looked at each other, completely at a loss.

After a moment of contemplative silence, R2 beeped loudly. 3PO just shook his mechanical head in disgust. "R2-D2, we've been through this!"

Wedge looked at him curiously. "Through what?"

If 3PO could have rolled his eyes at the other droid, he would have. "R2 has the ludicrous idea that Captain Solo should follow Master Luke and Princess Leia. He doesn't seem to see the ridiculousness of the idea."

Wedge looked at Han, who looked miserably desperate. "You want to."

The former spice smuggler nodded. "I just have a feeling."

"Are you a Force-adept also, General Solo?" asked a younger pilot in the group.

Han laughed a little and shook his head. "I am about as non-Force-sensitive as you can get! This is just a hunch."

The pilot nodded. Wedge looked at Han again. "Well," he said reluctantly, "no one has a better idea."

Chewbacca glared at the pilots' leader. He roared in protest, forgetting that only Han and 3PO understood his language.

"Hey hey hey!" Han yelled, trying to calm his best friend. "Chewie! Wedge is not trying to get me killed, ok?" The Wookiee turned to Han, huge eyes pleading with him not to take this risk. "I have to do this. For – " His voice caught. "For Leia."

Wedge put a comforting hand on Han's shoulder. "We'll be here waiting for you. Good luck."

Han nodded to his old friend. With everyone in tow, he headed for the cave. He kept repeating to himself, "For Leia."

He paused next to the crystal, turning to look at the group behind him. Wedge and the pilots were apprehensive. The droids looked the same as always, but R2 rolled back and forth, either in nervousness or excitement.

But Chewbacca looked at Han in more pain than Han had seen him recently. It reminded him of the look the Wookiee had had before Han was frozen in carbonite. "Chewie," he addressed his huge co-pilot. "Don't worry about me! I promise buddy, nothing's gonna happen! I'll be fine."

Chewie whimpered a little for his friend, but ultimately, he had no choice. Han had made up his mind.

Han turned around, closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and reached out his hand.

~~~~~

Luke was restless all morning. He was so afraid that True Heart would not let him try his experiment. But neither he nor True Heart knew how hard it would be on everyone involved.

A soft tap on the door startled Luke. "Come in!"

"Good morning!" said the pink bear who came into the hut.

"Oh. Good morning!"

"I'm Love-a-Lot Bear," she said. "We didn't meet before."

Oh good. So he hadn't forgotten her name. "It's nice to meet you, Love-a-Lot."

"True Heart wanted me to take you down to the Forest of Feelings today. She thought you'd like to see it."

"Oh." Luke liked the idea. "Sure!"

Love-a-Lot smiled. Luke already had on clothes that True Heart had given him. "I'm ready whenever you are."

"Ok!" Luke grabbed his lightsaber, clipped it to his waistband, and let Love-a-Lot lead him out.

Surprisingly, she led him to a river. Floating gently in the water was none other than a cloud boat. Wish Bear, Good Luck Bear, and Friend Bear were waiting by the riverside. "Hello!" called Friend Bear.

"Good morning." He gestured to the river. "This is how you get to the Forest of Feelings?"

Good Luck Bear nodded and looked at the sky. "The wind is good for sailing today."

"Good," Luke replied. He followed the four bears onto the boat. They pushed off from the shore and, catching the breeze, were off down the river.

After only a few minutes of sailing, a small boat passed them heading toward Care-a-Lot. Friend and Love-a-Lot Bear leaned over the boat's side. "Hello Noble Heart," Friend Bear called.

"Hello!" Luke heard Noble Heart reply. He wasn't really paying attention, since something seemed to be wrong with Wish Bear. She was much more quiet than normal.

She was sitting by the bow, staring down the river. He got up and joined her. Good Luck Bear watched the other green bear worriedly.

"Hi Luke," she said, still staring.

"Hi. How are you?"

"Fine."

'Absent reply,' thought Luke. 'She's hiding something.' "Is everything ok?"

"Uh-huh." Wish Bear paused for a moment, then finally looked to Luke. "No. I…there's something I need to tell you."

Luke was taken aback by her seriousness. Wish Bear, from what he'd seen, was usually happy and dreamy – never this serious. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's _wrong_, I just…" her voice trailed off. "There is something that I didn't mention about the test."

Luke felt shaky for a minute. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you remember how I said that I could feel the energy go through me?" Luke nodded. "Well…I also saw everything. Everything you saw I mean."

Luke was surprised. "You aw what I could see? Han, the Ewoks, Tatooine, everything?"

The green bear nodded. "What was all that?"

He smiled at her. "That was my old life. Do you remember the desert planet?"

"Yes."

"That is where I grew up."

Wish Bear blinked. "But it felt so boring!"

Luke laughed. Good luck Bear and Friend Bear looked up, glad to hear that the conversation was getting lighter. Luke realized that the root of Wish Bear's serious demeanor was simply curiosity over something she couldn't understand.

"You really miss everything there, don't you?"

Luke smiled wistfully. "It's home."

"Do you think you'll ever get back there?"

Luke looked to Wish Bear. "Absolutely. But you and the other Care Bears are going to have to help me."

~~~~~

"Why are you so worried?" Noble Heart asked.

True Heart paced around the empty Hall of Hearts. The other Care Bears knew not to interrupt. "What if it's too much? The Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins are still young! They might not be able to recover!"

Noble Heart just blinked, looking amused. "You worry too much."

True Heart glared at Noble Heart. The purple horse tried not to laugh. "They're my children!" Her look changed to stern. "This involves your children, too!"

Noble Heart smiled. "Yes. But, uh, remember our defeat of Dark Heart? He was one of our strongest enemies and the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins defeated him."

"Yeah, after getting turned into chandelier ornaments."

Noble Heart just sighed and shook his head. "True Heart, you have to trust them! The Care Bears are adults now. They're a little old for you to be tucking them in at night."

"I do not tuck them in at night!" True Heart said indignantly.

"You know what I mean."

True Heart folded her arms and sighed. "All right. After all, we do owe this to Luke…"

Noble Heart patted her shoulder. "They'll be fine, I promise."

The tan bear nodded. "As soon as Luke returns from the Forest of Feelings, we'll tell him." She paused. "She we warn the Care Bears and Cousins?"

"No. No need to worry them," Noble Heart said with just a touch more confidence than he felt.


	11. Hating the Force

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** I'm SO sorry I haven't updated this in so long! I've had terrible writers block, but it seems to be over now. Hopefully this fic is nearing its end, but I'm not sure.

**DISCLAIMER **Don't own anyone…well, actually I DO own Wish Bear in about 6 different sizes of stuffed animal *grin*

Completely lost, Leia wandered through the forest. Once she realized her connection to the Force was broken, she'd had nothing to do but explore.

She had no idea where she was. All habitable planets were on file in the Hall of Records on Coruscant, but in her numerous visits Leia had never seen this planet. It was beautiful, all green and brown and blue.

But something was seriously wrong. There was no Force. That was not normal.

Leia felt achy and dirty, presumably from her night spent in the field. Water would be helpful. Maybe there was a river or lake nearby.

'Well,' she thought with a shrug. 'Better start looking.'

~~~~~

"Uh, General Antilles?" Wedge turned to the pilot speaking to him. "What do we do now?"

Wedge sighed and looked toward the dark entrance of the cave. "I don't know." Quietly and cautiously, he entered the cave again.

"Don't say a word!" Han growled before Wedge had even opened his mouth. He pushed off of the cave wall where he'd been leaning and started pacing again. Wedge just watched him and waited.

"That damned crystal must be tied to the Force somehow," Han finally muttered. "Only Force-Sensitives get sucked in." He picked up a rock from the cave's floor and hurled it across against more stone. It hit with a reverberating crash.

Outside the cave, several of the pilots stared nervously inside. A few edged slowly away from the darkened, gaping opening. After no more crashes came from within the rocks, they visibly became less nervous.

After venting his anger on poor defenseless stones, Han turned to Wedge a calmer man. "I hate the Force. So. What's Plan B?"

~~~~~

Noble Heart and True Heart stood at the head of the table in the Hall of Hearts. Luke stood quietly behind them as they addressed their children.

"Care Bears!" True Heart said loudly.

"Care Bear Cousins!" Noble Heart echoed.

"Luke has requested that we help him make contact with his world. He thinks he knows of a way to do this." True Heart announced. "But it will take all of us to help him."

"What will be we required to do?" Cozy Heart Penguin asked.

True Heart sighed. "Not very much. This will be very similar to the test conducted before."

"He will channel the stare through one of us?" Wish Bear asked.

"No. He has a theory of another method." Noble Heart paused. "Perhaps we should have Luke explain it to you himself."

Luke stepped up. "Thank you Noble Heart." The purple horse nodded. Luke addressed the rest of the Care Bear Family. "Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins! I appreciate all that you have done for me so far. Thank you." He paused as a few of the animals smiled.

"As much as you have done for me already, I am afraid that I must ask more. I have a theory and if I am correct, I will be able to communicate with those in my world."

Secret Bear whispered something to Friend Bear who stood up. "How can you do that?"

Luke inconspicuously glanced at Wish Bear. "Your power, your stare, opens up a door. Before, with the power of only two, I could see through the door and nothing more. But if all of you focus the stare and call on me, it might be enough for me to walk through the door."

Looking at the creatures around him, Luke could see that he'd lost them. A blue dog raised her paw. "Where is the door?"

Luke smiled jut the slightest. "The door is on a different plan than we are. It is in the Force. Through your power, myself in the Force regains shape."

Cheer Bear stood up. "Let's do it!"

Tenderheart looked at Brave Heart. It was up to the two of them if True Heart and Noble Heart had agreed. None of the Bears or Cousins seemed to have any reservations, although none of them really understood what would happen. Brave Heart nodded hesitantly. Tenderheart glanced at True Heart and Noble Heart then looked to Luke.

"All right Luke. We'll give it a try."


	12. Luke's Journey

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** My writer's block seems to have finally cracked enough for me to finally continue with this. I'm trying to wind it up and I don't _think_ it should break like 15 or 16 chapters.

**DISCLAIMER** Don't own Luke…*sniff* sadly…Don't own the Care Bears either.

Leia got dressed again after washing in a very cold stream. She continued wandering. Her eyes continually filled with tears no matter how had she tried to stop them.

Every step she took in this world reminded her of her idyllic life on Alderaan. For many years, she'd buried those memories and the pain that went with them, but this planet could very well be Alderaan-reincarnated. There was no way those memories could stay buried here.

Leia was completely lost. She wandered through forests and fields, tears blurring her vision. Finally she gave up and sank down against a tall pine tree.

~~~~~

Luke lay on a stone table. His eyes were closed, his hands folded on his chest. He appeared to be asleep, but was actually in deep meditation. With or without the Force, his mind was still able to go into a deep trance.

The Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins gathered in a circle around him. They joined hands, consolidating their power.

"Care Bears," Tenderheart called softly, "stare!"

"Care Cousins!" Brave Heart called, also softy. "Call!"

Beams of light shone from the symbol of each Care Bear, absorbed by Luke's body. The Cousins all shouted their calls and a stream of blue shimmering light came from Brave Heart. Wispy musical notes seemed to float along until they reached Luke and they too were absorbed.

Luke felt the positive energy hit him, felt the Force open up to him. Using the strength of the Care Bears, Luke's spirit left his body and floated as the Force carried him along.

As he traveled to the faraway planet of Wayland, Luke felt the energy that the Bears and Cousins were spending. He wasn't sure how long they could keep it up. He willed the Force to carry him quickly.

Once on Wayland, his spirit walked like a man again. He saw the glowing crystal. The Force whispered to him, willed him to touch it again.

'I can't get zapped again,' he thought. 'My body's already on Earth.' He reached out to touch the smooth stone again.

A vision came to him when he touched it. Emperor Palpitine grinned coldly at him with yellow eyes. A red and black skinned man with dark fang-like teeth hissed. And a dark red whirlwind with glowing eyes laughed menacingly. Luke realized that they were the crystal. It was made from their essences.

Back on Earth, the Care Bear family grew a little weaker. Luke left he crystal and the cave to see Han, Wedge, and half the Starfleet looking very tired and hopeless. Luke tried to speak, but found that he couldn't. When he walked up to Han, who looked right through him, he figured they couldn't see him either.

He knew he could not draw any more strength from the Care Bears, but he needed to talk to Han. 'Please,' he called silently to True Heart and Noble Heart. 'I just need a little more!'

A surge of energy told him that the parents of the family had joined their power. Luke concentrated on become visible.

"Whoa!" Han yelled. He fell off the rock he was sitting on as Luke's ghost appeared right in front of him. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, trying to make Luke's image solid. It didn't work.

"Hand, listen to me," Luke said. "I don't have long."

"Uh," Han looked around, but many of the pilots, including Wedge, had fallen asleep.

"Don't ask questions," Luke said. "Just listen. The crystal is a portal between our universe and another. It is built from the essences of defeated Sith Lords."

"That must be why it only works for Force-Sensitives!" Han interrupted.

"What?"

Han grimaced. "Leia fell through the portal thing."  
Luke scowled. "You let my sister touch that crystal?"

Han glared at the apparition. "'Let' is too strong a word. And she only went through to go after you! This one's all your doing, kid."

Luke's scowl melted. Han, unfortunately, was right. "So what do you mean about only Force-Sensitives?"

"I tried it, too." Han laughed dryly. "Nothing happened."

Luke's image flickered. "Han, I have to leave. I'll find Leia and somehow I'll get us back."

With a last flicker, Luke disappeared. After a few seconds, Han realized what had just happened. He shook his head in disbelief. "Jedi."

With speed unmatched by anything earthly, Luke returned to his body and opened his eyes. The Care Bears and Cousins slumped exhaustedly to the ground when they saw him awake.


	13. Answers

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** Sorry for the delay! I have again developed a minor writer's block on this story. I guess the only real note is that the "Basic" that Luke speaks of is what they call English in the Star Wars Universe. It's technically called Imperial Basic.

**DISCLAIMER** Don't own them. Man, I really get tired of writing these disclaimers.

It was an hour or so before the Care Bear family had recovered enough to discuss their ordeal. Cheer Bear walked tiredly into the Hall of Hearts for another Care Bear Conference. 'All we've been doing is have meetings,' she thought. Her usual cheeriness had not returned since Luke's experiment.

Luke stood up in front of the group. "I'm sorry to all of you for how hard that was."

"Hmph!" grunted Grumpy Bear

Luke was visibly upset by the toll his journey had taken on everyone. But he continued. "While I was…gone, I learned several things. The crystal that brought me here is the manifestation of dead Sith Lords. The Emperor is part of it, as is a long dead Sith Lord I've read about called Darth Maul. There was a third presence I saw, a large red – "

"Darkheart," Tenderheart interrupted quietly. "It was Darkheart."

The other Care Bears nodded. Luke was surprised. "You saw all that?"

True Heart and Noble Heart, who had joined their power after the investigation of the crystal, paled. "Darkheart?" True Heart asked.

"Darkheart has returned?" Noble Heart remembered painfully what had happened in their last battle against Darkheart.

"He's not returned," Luke assured them. "He is a part of the crystal that sent me here. After he was defeated, his essence must have fled there."

The Family was silent, trying to deal with the fact that their dead enemy wasn't so dead. Luke was trying to find a nice, considerate way to ask for help locating Leia. Finally, True Heart spoke.

"We must journey to the Great Wishing Star. He gave us our power. He will surely know how we can defeat Darkheart again."

"But now Darkheart is joined with those two from Luke's world!" Grumpy Bear was so kind to point out. "What if we're not strong enough to face him?"

Luke held up a hand to get their attention again. "I have faced Emperor Palpitine and defeated him once, but there is still one more entity trapped in the crystal."

"Then who else will help us?" Gentle Heart Lamb asked softly.

"My sister Leia. I found out that she's here on Earth. If we can find her, she will help us, I know it." Luke knew he was begging, but he had to make sure his twin sister was okay.

Tenderheart nodded immediately. "Wish Bear, see if you can find her using the telescope. Get a cloud car ready and bring Luke down to Earth to bring her back." Wish Bear nodded and quickly left the Hall of Hearts.

Braveheart stood up. "Bright Heart, go with them." The raccoon nodded and followed Wish Bear.

True Heart and Noble Heart sadly watched their children. Luke's experiment had taken a lot out of them. It would take a very long time for them to fully recover. The quicker Luke got home, the better.

~~~~~

Leia felt dry. She'd cried out practically all the water in her body, or it felt like it. An emptiness settled over her and she barely noticed that the sun was approaching the horizon and she'd sat by the tree for hours.

A soft putter echoed down from the sky. It sounded like a soft tapping on air. Leia was convinced that she was hearing things. The noise stopped and she knew she was going crazy.

"Leia!"

She turned her head and saw Luke running toward her through the trees. Not caring if she was hallucinating or not, she jumped to her feet and ran to her brother. "Luke!" she sobbed as she flung herself into his arms.

He stroked her hair. "Shh! I'm here, we're safe."

She couldn't be happier to see her brother. But when blinking her newest tears away, Leia saw two very strange looking creatures over his shoulder. "Luke? Who…?"

He released her and saw her staring at Wish Bear and Bright Heart. "Don't worry. They're friends." Seeing her thoroughly confused look, he grinned. "Just think of them as multicolored Ewoks who speak Basic and use the Force."

"Okay…" Leia nodded uncertainly. "Oh! The Force! Luke, I can't feel the Force!"

"Neither can I, except through the Care Bears here," he said, motioning to Wish Bear.

"Luke," Bright Heart interrupted. "We have to return to Care-a-Lot. True Heart and Noble Heart must bring you before the Great Wishing Star!"

'Care-a-Lot?' Leia asked herself. 'Great Wishing Star?! Oh boy.'

"All right Bright Heart." The two humans followed Wish Bear and Bright Heart back to the cloud car. Leia couldn't believe her eyes.

"I'm dreaming. I _have_ to be dreaming!" she muttered. "Luke, there is no way you can travel by cloud ship!"

"Actually, they're cloud cars," he corrected, wearing an irritating boyish grin. He ducked her annoyed swat. "Don't worry about it. It is quite safe for where we're going."


	14. To Square One

**I am sorry to announce that I will be leaving ff.net for a while…I have some friends staying with me for a week and won't have much time to update. But I'll be back after that!**

**DISCLAIMER** I sadly don't own anyone. *sniff* But I do own my Wish Bear pillow!

True Heart had the cloud ship ready and waiting when Luke returned. Leia could only gawk open-mouthed at Care-a-Lot and its inhabitants.

She let Luke guide her onto the cloud ship without complaints. This whole ordeal was way beyond her realm of comprehension. Once the entire Care Bear family assembled on the ship, Luke left his sister in Share Bear and Funshine Bear's charge and went to confer with the two parents.

"Where are we going exactly?" he asked.

"The Great Wishing Star is not only of this universe," Noble Heart explained. "He may know of your home."

"The crystal is partly made of your enemy as well as mine," Luke mused. "That means it must have a backwards port. It must also lead from this world to mine. I just don't know how!" he finished frustratedly.

"The Great Wishing Star will know," True Heart assured him. "Don't worry." Luke just looked pensive.

Leia, meanwhile, regarded the Care Bear family curiously. Luke seemed to trust them and so far they'd tried to help in any way they could. Likewise, they looked curiously back at her.

For a trip to the edge of space, it was surprisingly short and anti-climactic. And, Luke noted, they had stopped in the middle of nowhere. There was just blackness and certainly no Great Wishing Star. In fact, no stars at all.

The air shimmered faintly and with blinding light, an impossibly large star-shaped face loomed over them. Luke and Leia, with all their Jedi calm and diplomatic elegance respectively, went slack-jawed and stared. The Great Wishing Star blinked and smiled.

"Why hello Care Bear family!" it said.

The Care Bears and Cousins bowed their heads in reverence. "We seek your help!" Noble Heart said. "Darkheart threatens us again."

"Ah yes," the Star said. "When the boy showed his caring for Christy, Darkheart's evil left him and fled our universe as we know it."

"Into mine," Luke commented, momentarily overcoming his shock.

The Star laughed. "Yes. There is only one way to put an end to him. I can bring you to where he has hidden. Once you destroy him there, all will be set right once more."

"What do you mean, set right?" Leia asked in a small voice. Luke had never seen her look so sad.

"All will be restored to its normal place and time in the universe."

Luke took his sister's hand. "We'll go home, Leia."

"Oh." Leia knew she should be happy to go home. To be with her beloved Han again. But it was like she'd found Alderaan all over again. The thought of leaving pained her as much as the thought of staying.

True Heart could tell that Leia was going through something, although she didn't know what. As she watched the woman sadly, she suddenly felt something moving in her paw. Her eyes opened wide when she saw what she held and she glanced at the Great Wishing Star. He winked and nodded just slightly to her.

"We must go quickly," Luke said. "We cannot allow the crystal to gather strength."

"Very well," the Great Star said. "Good luck on your journey!" As the shining star faded away, those on the cloud ship did, too.

"Holy hell!" Han Solo yelled as Luke, Leia, and several colored creatures appeared from thin air outside the cave.

Luke saw Han, Chewbacca, Wedge, and every single pilot staring at them, jaws scraping the rock ground. They had returned to Wayland.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** The Great Wishing Star's explanation is based on a quote from _Care Bears Movie 2: A New Generation_. True Heart says to the boy (the former Darkheart) "Your evil left you when you admitted how much you really cared!" This tends to suggest that Darkheart wasn't defeated, he just abandoned the boy as his host.


	15. Farewell and a Gift

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** Again, sorry it's taken me so long to update! I've been busy moving into my new dorm and getting myself settled and everything, but here is the last chapter! This is the story I've been writing for the longest and I'm kinda sad to see it go! There will be a theme song after this, but here is the end of The Force of a Cloud Car!

**DISCLAIMER** I don't own anyone…*sniff*

"Luke?" Han managed to sputter, but the Jedi ignored him. "Leia?" he tried, but she too ignored him. "Colored animal things?!" he cried, determined to be acknowledged.

But they all ignored him. "Follow me!" Luke said and they disappeared into the cave.

He was met with a shock when they reached the crystal. Instead of the smooth milky white it had been, the stone's core writhed and boiled with darkness. He stared deep within it and was further worried when he saw malevolent eyes glaring back at him. "Its power is growing," he said tensely. Before he'd needed contact to see into the crystal's depths. Now they were clear.

"We must destroy it!" Noble Heart said, urging the Cousins on.

"No!" Leia's sudden, broken cry startled everyone. She threw herself between the crystal and everyone else.

"Leia, move!" Luke pleaded.

"I can't," she whispered tearfully. "I can't! I can't leave Alderaan again!"

"Leia," Luke said gently. "Alderaan is gone. Earth is different and it is not our home." He took her hand again. "Let it go."

She looked at her brother – her strong, supportive, wise brother – and nodded. Luke took her back to stand with the Care Bear family. The two humans stood facing their friends, those who had cared for them. "Thank you," Luke said simply.

True Heart stepped forward. "And thank you! You have taught us much about ourselves. I have a parting gift for you." She looked to Leia. "For both of you."

Holding out her paw, she placed something small and glowing in Leia's hand. Leia looked at the star-shaped creature lying asleep in her hand. It was smaller than her palm.

"Wow!" Braveheart Lion said.

"A baby star buddy!" Funshine Bear said in awe.

"Yes." True Heart smiled. "When he grows up, he will be bale to communicate with Great Wishing Star, should either of you want to see us again."

Leia's eyes glistened with tears as she bent down to hug the bear. Wish Bear broke out of the group to give Luke a hug good-bye. "I'll miss you!"

Luke smiled at the green bear. She was the one he'd most remember. "Every time you use your power, just remember how boring it felt on Tatooine!"

She laughed. "Okay."

True Heart and Noble Heart took ceremonial positions at the front of the family. "Ready?" Noble Heart asked. Luke and Leia nodded.

"Care Bears, stare!" At True Heart's word, beams of colored light shot through the air and hit the crystal.

"Care Cousins, call!" The cries of various animals ran through the cave as the Care Bear Cousins added their own power.

Luke and Leia, hands interlocked to join their power that had developed as the twins grew together in their mother's womb, closed their eyes in concentration. As their power intensified, pure white light seemed to erupt from their outstretched fingers.

Meanwhile, Han and Wedge were busy pinching each other in order to determine if it was all an elaborate dream. After a minute and several promises of black and blue marks, they determined that it was really happening.

A matrix of cracks appeared in the crystal's surface, all but hiding the dark maelstrom within. "It's breaking!" Luke cried. Letting go of Leia's hand, he pulled his lightsabre free. With a brilliant flash and a deafening thunderclap, the crystal was gone in the flashing green arc of the Jedi weapon.

Then the cave was silent. Han cautiously walked over to his old friend. Seeing that Luke seemed sane and uninjured, Han smacked him upside the head. "What the hell was that?!"

Leia dizzily shook her head, looking around. "They're gone."

Luke nodded sadly. "Yes."

"Luke? Hello?" Han still didn't have his answer. "What is going on?"

Opening her hand, Leia smiled at the baby star buddy still fast asleep. She walked out of the cave and gazed into the starry sky. Coruscant, where the New Republic had settled, shone in the black sky. Turning to Luke and Han, she smiled.

"Let's go home."

**The End**


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